Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time, (b) part-time and (c) seasonal workers are currently employed in the agricultural industry and what percentage of the (i) agricultural and (ii) total workforce each of these figures represents.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Data from the Annual Labour Force Survey (Autumn 2000 – Summer 2001) show that the number of full-time workers employed in the agricultural industry is 51,000, which accounts for 89.5% of employment in agricultural industry. The number of part-time workers employed in agricultural industry is 6,000, which accounts for 10.5% of employment in agricultural industry.

  Figures for seasonal employment in agricultural industry are not held centrally.

  As percentages of the total work force in each category, the proportions working in agricultural industries are: full-time employment 2.8%; part-time employment 1.0%, and total employment 2.4%.

Breastfeeding

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage breastfeeding amongst those sectors of the population where the incidence is low.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Health Plan Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change and A Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland make clear the Scottish Executive’s commitment to promoting breastfeeding across Scotland. The Scottish Breastfeeding Group and the Health Education Board for Scotland are working to promote, support and sustain breastfeeding, including sponsoring the recent World’s best baby food   advert .

  The National Breastfeeding Adviser is working with NHS Boards to encourage and increase the incidence and duration of breastfeeding through, for example, the UNICEF Baby Friendly initiatives. A priority of the Health Improvement Fund is to support work to improve children’s diet, which includes breastfeeding. In addition, breastfeeding initiatives are part of a number of Social Inclusion Partnership programmes.

Cancer

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what reports it has received from the Greater Glasgow NHS Board or the North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust on the progress in advertising for, and recruitment of, replacements for those consultant oncologists who have announced their resignations from service with the Trust.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information provided by local NHS management indicates that there have been five expressions of interest in the six posts advertised.

Crime

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown by (a) crime and (b) offence of the 45,475 no proceedings in 2000, as referred to in chart 2 of Criminal proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2000 .

Colin Boyd QC: The figures are not broken down by crime and the information is accordingly not available.

Crime

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown by (a) crime and (b) offence of the 16,356 fiscal fines in 2000, as referred to in chart 2 of Criminal proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2000 .

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown by (a) crime and (b) offence of the 18,275 fiscal warnings in 2000, as referred to in chart 2 of Criminal proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2000 .

Colin Boyd QC: The figures are not broken down by crime and the information is accordingly not available.

Crime

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many no proceedings have taken place in the criminal justice system in each the past 10 years, broken down by crime/offence.

Colin Boyd QC: Overall numbers of cases marked "no proceedings" are published in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Annual Reports and (for the last five years) included in the Services' Submission to the Justice 2 Committee. They are not, however, broken down by crime and that information is not available.

Crime Prevention

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent assessment has been made of the impact of closed circuit television (CCTV) systems on levels of street crime in (a) Scotland and (b) the parliamentary constituency of West Renfrewshire.

Dr Richard Simpson: Since 1996 the Scottish Executive has awarded funding of over £10 million to more than 160 public CCTV systems throughout Scotland. There has been no national assessment of the effect of those systems on levels of street crime and I am not aware of any systems funded from this programme which are operating in West Renfrewshire. However, from 1 April 2001 we are introducing a new funding programme worth £12 million over the next three years which will include provision for CCTV. A proposal has been included within the Scottish Executive new research agenda for an evaluation of the new funding arrangements which will also include a review of the systems approved under the existing funding scheme.

Dental Care

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the level of provision of hospital dental services in the Grampian Health Board area and the length of waiting times for such services in comparison with other health board areas.

Malcolm Chisholm: I am aware of the difficulties the board is experiencing in providing adequate dental services in the Grampian area and my officials are in close touch with the board. The underlying problem has been difficulty in attracting staff. The University Hospitals NHS Trust is making progress with recruitment. Wider all-Scotland steps are being taken to improve recruitment to the dental profession.

Dentists

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the NHS treatments available from general dental practitioners.

Malcolm Chisholm: Discussions are under way with the dental profession on extending the range of treatments which may be given by general dental practitioners under NHS general dental services to non-registered patients.

Dentists

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that there is a sufficient number of dental graduates and whether any such plans include the provision of a new dental school.

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to increase the number of places at dental schools in order to address any current shortage.

Malcolm Chisholm: The number of dentists working in Scotland has increased constantly over the last 30 years and by 300 in the last eight years, and we are committed to increasing numbers further. The Scottish Advisory Committee for the Dental Workforce (SACDW) advise on the most effective way to achieve this. Increasing the student intake is only one of the various options that the committee considers. There are currently no plans for a new dental school in Scotland.

  The Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education is currently working with ISD Scotland to map the characteristics and supply dynamics of the dental workforce, based on our current annual target output of 120 dental graduates per year. Once this information is available, SACDW will consider the findings and will recommend on the most appropriate method to increase the number of dentists working in primary care in Scotland.

Dentists

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to reverse its policy of not recruiting dentists from overseas in order to address any shortage of dentists.

Malcolm Chisholm: There is no policy which restricts NHS Boards from recruiting dentists from overseas into Scotland. We are committed to increasing in the number of dentists working in primary care in Scotland. The Scottish Advisory Committee for the Dental Workforce are currently examining the most effective way to achieve this, and recruiting dentists from overseas is only one of several options.

Dentists

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide financial assistance to the local health board or other appropriate organisation within the Grampian region to help attract dentists to the region.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive is investing record resources in NHSScotland and in Grampian. It is for NHS Grampian to determine how best to deploy these resources in accordance with their assessment of local needs and priorities and in the best interests of patients. I understand that NHS Grampian are investigating advertising overseas to attract dentists to the area.

Dentists

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many places there are at each dental school in the current year, and were in each of the last three years, and what the ratio was of applications to places available in each year.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is shown in the following table. The number of applications dropped in 2001 because the closing date for entry was brought forward from 15 December to 15   October. The Dental Schools continue to receive more than sufficient applications to ensure that they can select students of high quality.

  


Year 
  

Dundee Dental School 
  

Glasgow Dental School 
  



Applications 
  

Admissions 
  

Ratio 
  

Applications 
  

Admissions 
  

Ratio 
  



2001 
  

319 
  

59 
  

5.4:1 
  

258 
  

74 
  

3.5:1 
  



2000 
  

391 
  

59 
  

6.6:1 
  

309 
  

71 
  

4.4:1 
  



1999 
  

420 
  

53 
  

7.9:1 
  

389 
  

67 
  

5.8:1 
  



1998 
  

403 
  

53 
  

7.6:1 
  

393 
  

65 
  

6.0:1

Dentists

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make additional resources available to attract general dental practitioners to rural areas similar to the "Golden Hello" package of measures introduced for general practitioners.

Malcolm Chisholm: Discussions are under way currently with the dental profession on improved support for dentists in rural areas. These will inform the way forward in respect of these dentists.

Devolution

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what processes it has in place to consult the Parliament on any changes to Bills following approaches by Westminster Departments in accordance with paragraph 17 of Devolution Guidance Note 10: Post Devolution Primary Legislation Affecting Scotland .

Ms Patricia Ferguson: The Executive is committed to keeping the Parliament informed by means of supplementary memoranda of any significant changes to Bills during their passage at Westminster in relation to devolved matters. If such changes are made which are not covered by the terms of the original Sewel Motion, the Executive will seek the Parliament's consent to these changes by means of a further Sewel Motion.

Drug Misuse

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the level of resources allocated to local authority and health board areas to combat drug abuse will reflect the findings of its research, Estimating National and Local Prevalence of Problem Drug Misuse in Scotland,  published on 15 November 2001.

Dr Richard Simpson: The prevalence report shows that the level of Executive funding for drug treatment services is broadly in line with the level of problem drug use in NHS Board areas. Prevalence estimates, along with other relative indicators of need, will be taken into account in the future allocation of drug treatment resources.

  Grant Aided Expenditure to local authorities, through which funding for drug rehabilitation is allocated, is in accordance with an established formula which takes several factors into account, including population and deprivation.

  Scotland’s Drug Action Teams have been provided with three-year budgets, to enable them to plan and deliver local services with a degree of stability and confidence. We have no plans to reallocate these resources within the current Spending Review period.

Education

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children received a statement of educational needs in the West Renfrewshire parliamentary constituency area in 2000.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is provided in the table.

  Number of pupils with a Record of Needs attending schools in the West Renfrewshire constituency area

  


 


 


Sector 
  



Total 
  

Primary 
  

Secondary 
  

Special 
  



West Renfrewshire 
  

314 
  

74 
  

109 
  

131 
  



  Source: SEED School Census, September 2001.

  Notes:

  1. The above figures are for the number of pupils that had an open Record of Needs as at September 2000 and not the number of new records opened in that year.

  2. The figures relate to children who are educated in schools in the West Renfrewshire constituency, which may be different from the number who actually live in the constituency.

Emergency Planning

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made on whether additional funding will be required to meet the costs of anti-terrorism measures required since 11 September 2001.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive has regular contacts with police forces about a range of matters, including funding, and the implications of the events of 11 September are still under review. However, some additional resources have already been made available as a result of measures taken.

Enterprise

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to question S1W-8880, S1W-8892 and S1W-8893 by Henry McLeish on 16 August 2000, how much public money has been expended to date on refurbishment, training and other support in respect of the proposed call centre at Claridge Mill, Selkirk.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Enterprise Borders Annual Report 2000 states that £670,000 has been spent on the refurbishment and training costs at Claridge Mill, Selkirk.

  Since then, Scottish Enterprise Borders has assisted the company to recruit and train individuals who have been affected by large redundancies by providing training for three individuals, up to a total cost of £7,020. Scottish Enterprise Borders has also contributed 50% funding for training, assessing and testing 11 of the call centre employees who are currently working to acquire their European Computer Driving Licence, at a cost of £3,000.

Fisheries

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which companies were responsible for undertaking the annual maintenance of fisheries protection vessels Norna and Sulisker in 2001 and whether the maintenance contracts were completed within their quoted time scale and budget.

Ross Finnie: Norna’s refit was completed by MMS Ship Repair and Dry Dock Company Ltd within the agreed timescale and budget.

  Sulisker’s refit was completed by Dunston (Ship Repairers) Ltd within the allocated time and budget. However, she was not in service for a further seven days due to delays on work by specialist engineering and fire control contractors who had been directly contracted by Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency to undertake additional works while the vessel was in refit.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources it currently provides for hearing assessments and services to health boards where there is a higher than national average number of people aged over 60.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive is providing substantial additional resources to NHSScotland. The allocations given to NHS Boards increased on average by 5.5% in 2001-02 and individual allocations show an increase on average by 6.9% and 7.8% in 2002-03 and 2003-04. The formula used to determine funding takes account of, amongst other factors, the influence of age on the relative healthcare needs of each NHS Board's population.

  However, it is for NHS Boards to decide how to deploy funds on the basis of their assessment of local needs and priorities for investment. In determining local priorities, NHS Boards take account of national priorities and guidance.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14769 by Susan Deacon on 17 April 2001, what the membership of the working group on the review of audiology services is; what the scope of this review is, and when the working group will report and to whom.

Malcolm Chisholm: The membership of the Audiology Services Working Group is as follows:

  


Mr Gordon McHardy
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary 
  

Dr Jackie Grigor
Audiology Department
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh 
  



Mr Forbes Lauder
Senior Chief PMT Audiology
Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley 
  

Dr John Irwin
Consultant Audiological Physician
Ninewells Hospital, Dundee 
  



Mrs Christine G De Placido
Senior Chief PMT Audiology
Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy 
  

Mr John Crowther
Consultant ENT Surgeon
The Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow 
  



Professor Stuart Gatehouse
MRC Institute of Hearing Research
Royal Infirmary, Glasgow 
  

Dr Sheila Beck
Public Health Project Manager
Public Health Institute of Scotland, Glasgow 
  



Ms Moira Milligan
Scottish Healthcare Supplies, Edinburgh 
  

Mr Stuart Smith, Director
RNID Scotland 
  



Mr Bob Stock, Chairman
Scottish Executive 
  

Dr David Breen
Consultant in Public Health Medicine
Dumfries and Galloway NHS Board 
  



Dr Peter Craig
Chief Scientist Office
Scottish Executive 
  

Miss Susan Scott
Occupational Therapy Adviser
Scottish Executive 
  



Mrs Anne McQueen
Hearing aid user, Dundee 
  
 



  The adequacy of services will be judged in relation to a wide range of factors including staffing; structure of the service; population served; waiting times; clinic facilities; equipment; liaison with other agencies, and the knock-on demands of screening initiatives.

  The working group is due to report to the Scottish Executive in the autumn 2002.

Health

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18272 by Susan Deacon on 15 October 2001, when the first meeting of the expert group on acute services reviews will be held.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change , set out the intention to establish an expert group to support and advise NHS Boards in managing the changes in the configuration of services and advising the Health Department of the appropriateness of local reconfiguration.

  Details of the expert group will be announced early in the New Year.

Health

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18272 by Susan Deacon on 15 October 2001, which specialisms within general, medical and surgical practice and among nursing staff have been invited to send a representative to the first meeting of the expert group on acute services reviews.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change , set out the intention to establish an expert group supporting and advising local NHS Boards in managing changes in the configuration of services and advising the Health Department of the appropriateness of local reconfiguration.

  The expert group, details of which will be announced early in the New Year, will have representatives who cover a wide range of community, clinical and public service experience.

Health

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18272 by Susan Deacon on 15 October 2001, which representatives from within general, medical and surgical practice and among nursing staff in the Greater Glasgow NHS Board area have been invited to the first meeting of the expert group on acute services reviews.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our National Health set out the intention to establish an expert group supporting and advising local NHS Boards in managing changes in the configuration of services and advising the Health Department of the appropriateness of local reconfiguration.

  The expert group, details of which will be announced early in the New Year, will have representatives who have a wide range of community, clinical and public service experience from across Scotland.

Hearing Aids

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the efficacy of the Direct Access System for hearing aid provision assessments.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are currently no arrangements for the formal monitoring by the Executive of the Direct Access System. However, I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20636. The answer outlines the scope of the wide ranging review of audiology services currently under way which will include review of the referral systems.

Justice

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases there were in which accused persons had been committed for trial and for which indictments had not been issued as at 1 November 2001 and how many such cases there were as at 1 November 2000.

Colin Boyd QC: The time limits for the service of indictments following full committal contemplate such service at any time up to 11 months thereafter. During that time, the cases are investigated and prepared. Except in relation to potential High Court cases, such cases are not brought to the central attention of Crown Office until preparation is complete. The particular statistic sought as regards November 2000 is not recorded and could not be reconstructed except by diverting substantial resources. The same is true of the statistic for November 2001.

Languages

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19548 by Jackie Baillie on 14 November 2001, for which languages there are qualified interpreters and how many interpreters are available for each language.

Iain Gray: The information requested is not held centrally.

  The Executive commissioned a literature review of research, policy and practice relating to translating, interpreting and communication support services across the public sector in Scotland earlier this year. The final report will be published shortly but will not provide detailed information about the availability of qualified interpreters by language.

Lifelong Learning

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-3160 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 22 March 2001, whether it will (a) provide an update of figures on the take-up of Individual Learning Accounts and (b) outline any plans to encourage further take-up.

Ms Wendy Alexander: By 19 November, a total of over 245,000 accounts had been opened for people in Scotland and nearly 110,000 had used them for some learning. The target of 100,000 opened accounts was reached in June this year.

Lifelong Learning

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12737 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 6 February 2001, whether it will provide a breakdown of the key characteristics of Individual Learning Account holders, including age group, gender, occupation, area of residence and type, subject and level of learning undertaken.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Surveys of 1,000 Individual Learning Account (ILA) members in Scotland who had used their account and approximately 150 who had yet to undertake learning were conducted by MORI over the period September 2000 to February 2001. Key findings were as follows:

  57% were female.

  56% were aged between 31 and 50, and 23% were aged 51 or older.

  40% were management/professional workers; 9% were process workers and 6% were retail and customer services workers.

  24% worked within small companies and 2% were labour market returners.

  62% of those receiving 80% discounts were undertaking introductory ICT courses.

  36% of those receiving 80% discounts were undertaking introductory English/communications courses, 1% were undertaking introductory maths/numeracy courses.

  13% were working towards a degree-level qualification.

Lifelong Learning

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-6482 by Henry McLeish on 16 May 2000, what progress has been made by the Trade Union Working Party on Lifelong Learning in respect of enhancing the involvement of trade unions in the broad lifelong learning agenda in Scotland.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Trade Union Working Party on Lifelong Learning, inaugurated in August 2000, meets on a quarterly basis. It provides a forum for trade union input to a wide range of lifelong learning issues and makes a valuable input to the development of Executive policy in this area.

Local Government

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with taking forward the work of the Renewing Local Democracy Working Group.

Mr Andy Kerr: We have today agreed a timetable for the next steps in taking forward the work of the working group. Copies of the timetable are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Local Government Finance

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give details of (a) each individual allocation of money that it has made to Moray Council in the current financial year and (b) the purpose of each such allocation.

Mr Andy Kerr: Allocations made to date are listed in the following table. However, further allocations are likely to be made in this financial year.

  


Purpose 
  

Amount Allocated (£ million) 
  



Aggregate External Finance 
  

97.450 
  



Capital Allocation 
  

5.300 
  



Modernising Government Fund 
  

0.310 
  



Grant to help tackle the backlog of repairs to schools 
  and improve information technology facilities. 
  

0.459 
  



School Buildings Improvement Fund 
  

0.206 
  



Domestic Abuse Development Fund 
  

0.011 
  



Offender Services 
  

0.388 
  



Rough Sleepers Initiative 
  

0.096 
  



Funding to assist with costs of producing homelessness 
  strategy 
  

0.056 
  



New Housing Partnership Funding 
  

1.618 
  



Warm Deal and Central Heating Initiative 
  

0.040 
  



Setting up of Supporting People programme 
  

0.033 
  



Housing Revenue Account Allocation 
  

1.848 
  



Hostels Grant 
  

0.195 
  



Local Housing Strategy preparation 
  

0.030 
  



Core Social Inclusion Partnership Funding 
  

0.447 
  



Community Reps Funding 
  

0.060 
  



Pre-School Grant 
  

2.714 
  



Additional financial resources for schools 
  

0.534 
  



Additional resources to help education authorities tackle 
  the backlog of repairs to schools and improve IT facilities 
  

0.459 
  



Infrastructure and Training Action Plan 
  

0.073 
  



Modern Languages in Primary Schools Scheme 
  

0.020 
  



Moray Desk Top Publishing Project 
  

0.079 
  



Moray Young People Project 
  

0.099 
  



Lochpark Tree Nursery 
  

0.034 
  



Access to Information 
  

0.174 
  



East of Scotland Objective 2 Programme 
  

0.145 
  



Total 
  

112.878

Marriage (Scotland) Bill

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to use the Marriage (Scotland) Bill to the advantage of the tourism industry in Scotland.

Mike Watson: VisitScotland already markets Scotland as a romantic setting for a wedding. Romance is one of the themes of the current winter campaign. In their future campaigns, VisitScotland will take account of the arrangements introduced by The Marriage (Scotland) Bill, which will be of benefit to our tourism industry.

NHS

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS patients have had their operations carried out in hospitals in other European Union member states in the past 12 months.

Malcolm Chisholm: Last year, around 1,100 patients from all parts of the United Kingdom received their treatment overseas under the long established EC reciprocal arrangements. Separate figures for Scotland are not available.

NHS

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines have been issued to health boards and NHS primary care trusts regarding the commissioning of NHS operations in other European Union member states.

Malcolm Chisholm: No such guidelines have issued to NHS Boards, which are responsible for commissioning health services in Scotland, or to NHS Trusts. However, the Scottish Executive and NHSScotland keeps under review the potential contribution all providers of healthcare can make to the care and treatment of Scottish NHS patients.

NHS Waiting Times

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what current and future target waiting times it has set for an appointment with an audiologist.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change sets out the Executive’s commitment to ensuring that the patient’s journey through the NHS is as swift and responsive as possible, and includes a number of waiting times targets in the priority areas of cancer and coronary heart disease.

  Although I have no present plans to set national waiting times targets for audiology, reducing waiting is a key priority for NHS Boards and they are currently developing local waiting time standards to reflect local clinical priorities.

NHS Waiting Times

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what waiting time targets it has set for paediatric hearing assessments.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change sets out the Executive’s commitment to ensuring that the patient’s journey through the NHS is as swift and responsive as possible, and includes a number of waiting times targets in the priority areas of cancer and coronary heart disease.

  Although the Scottish Executive has no present plans to set national waiting times targets for paediatric hearing assessments, reducing waiting is a key priority for NHS Boards and they are currently developing local waiting time standards to reflect local clinical priorities.

Police

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what appointments have been made to the Lothian and Borders Joint Police Board in each year since 1997 and what the (a) party affiliation of and (b) remuneration received by each appointee was.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is not held centrally. Appointments to the board are matters for the constituent police authorities in the Lothian and Borders Police area, in line with the arrangements set out in The Lothian and Borders Combined Police Area Amalgamation Scheme Order 1995.

Police

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give details of any councillors who have sat on the Lothian and Borders Joint Police Board in each year since 1974 including (a) party affiliation of and (b) remuneration received by each councillor.

Mr Jim Wallace: This information is not held centrally. Appointments to the board are matters for the constituent police authorities in the Lothian and Borders Police area, in line with the arrangements set out, most recently, in The Lothian and Borders Combined Police Area Amalgamation Scheme Order 1995.

Police

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to police forces regarding the provision of sufficient numbers of community police officers.

Mr Jim Wallace: None. The deployment of police officers to particular tasks is an operational matter for chief constables and divisional commanders in light of local needs and circumstances.

Police

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional funding has been given to police forces in the current financial year to ensure that there are adequate numbers of community police officers.

Mr Jim Wallace: Funding is allocated to forces in total and is not earmarked for specific purposes. It is for chief constables to allocate resources according to priorities and demands in their force area.

Police

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on community policing in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is not held centrally.

Police

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many community police officers there currently are in each police force area.

Mr Jim Wallace: Figures are not held centrally on the numbers of community police officers. In any case, forces will vary deployment of their officers to meet local needs and circumstances.

Police

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it has undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of community police officers in reducing crime.

Mr Jim Wallace: While there have been no formal evaluation studies on the impact of community policing, this is one of the aspects of policing routinely considered by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary during its primary inspections of forces.

Police

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it plans to take to increase the number of community police officers.

Mr Jim Wallace: Funding for the police service in Scotland is at record levels. Police officer numbers in Scotland have also reached record levels in the current year. But the deployment of police officers to particular tasks, like community policing, is an operational matter for chief constables and divisional commanders who will take account of local needs and circumstances.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost of social work services was to the Scottish Prison Service in (a) 1998-99, (b) 1999-2000, (c) 2000-01 and (d) to date in the current financial year in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms at current prices.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The cost to SPS of Social Work services was:

  

 

(i) 
  

(ii) 
  



(a) 
  

£1.9 million 
  

£2.0 million 
  



(b) 
  

£2.0 million 
  

£2.1 million 
  



(c) 
  

£2.1 million 
  

£2.1 million 
  



(d) 
  

Figures not available

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many general practitioners provided a medical service in each prison in (a) 1998-99, (b) 1999-2000 and (c) 2000-01.

Mr Jim Wallace: : I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  Prior to November 2000 medical services were provided through a variety of contractual arrangements. The number of GPs was variable and not recorded. Since November 2000 medical services have been provided under contract to provide a specified service.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was in (a) cash terms and (b) real terms at current prices of providing general practitioner services to prisons in (i) 1998-99, (ii) 1999-2000 and (iii) 2000-01.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  On account of the variety of arrangements in place prior to 2000-01 exact costs are not available. Annual costs are estimated to have been about £1.3 million.

  In November 2000, a single contract was awarded for the provision of medical services to SPS, the costs of which are commercially confidential.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether 50 inmates at Glenochil Young Offenders Institution have been decanted to the young offenders institutions at Dumfries and Polmont due to staff shortages as a result of the new staff attendance system and, if so, what action it plans to take, and when, to address this situation.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  A number of young offenders were relocated not as a result of the new staff attendance system, whose effects are beneficial, but as part of the normal operational management of SPS to free up staff for deployment elsewhere.

Proceeds of Crime Bill

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been consulted by Her Majesty's Government on any amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Bill since the resolution of the Parliament on the Bill on 24 October 2001.

Mr Jim Wallace: Yes. Ministers and officials from the Scottish Executive, the Scotland Office and the Home Office are regularly discussing the Proceeds of Crime Bill as it passes through its parliamentary stages at Westminster. This includes discussion of amendments affecting Scotland.

Proceeds of Crime Bill

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail any discussions it has had, and with whom, regarding any amendment to the Proceeds of Crime Bill subsequent to the resolution of the Parliament on the Bill on 24 October 2001.

Mr Jim Wallace: Ministers and officials from the Scottish Executive, the Scotland Office and the Home Office are regularly discussing the Proceeds of Crime Bill as it passes through its parliamentary stages at Westminster. This includes discussion of amendments affecting Scotland.

Proceeds of Crime Bill

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it gave, or has given, its approval for amendments to be tabled at Westminster to the Proceeds of Crime Bill which will give mandatory powers for sheriffs in relation to confiscation orders.

Mr Jim Wallace: Yes. Scottish ministers agreed the Government amendments providing for mandatory confiscation powers in Scotland.

Roads

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the statement released by email directly to a selection of ministers and MSPs by Amey Highways Ltd on 15 November 2001, whether the company’s motorway maintenance programme "has met the exacting standards laid down by the Scottish Executive"; how many default notices have been issued to the company since 1 April 2001; why any such notices were issued in each case, and what impact any such notices have had on the extent to which Amey Highways Ltd meets the standards required by the Executive.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive and the Performance Audit Group (Halcrow Group Ltd in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers) monitor the performance of Amey Highways in order to see if this performance meets the standards required by the trunk road contract. Where contract obligations are not met, there is a provision within the contract for a Default Notice to be issued and/or for money to be withheld. A Default Notice identifies a specific issue where an Operating Company is not meeting its contractual obligations and requires the Operating Company to set in train a programme to remedy the situation. To date seven Default Notices have been issued to Amey Highways in South East Unit and 12 to South West Unit. They have been issued in respect of management issues such as compliance of computer systems and operational issues such as cutting of grass verges.

  Default Notices are taken very seriously by the Operating Company and are therefore an effective tool in ensuring that performance is improved. However, in a contract as large and diverse as the trunk road maintenance contracts it is most unlikely that the contractor would at all times meet all of its contractual requirements. Whilst the issue of Default Notices is disappointing, it should not be seen as indicating a general underperformance of the Operating Company.

Scottish Executive Announcements

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions since May 1999 it has made media announcements outwith the facilities in Victoria Quay, Edinburgh; what venues were used, and what the total cost was of these announcements.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive makes announcements in venues appropriate for the nature of the announcement, for example: in Parliament; at events or conferences; through visits to organisations or projects throughout the country, and through news releases, as well as through press conferences. The main venue for press conferences is the Media Centre in St Andrews House, although Victoria Quay and other Scottish Executive buildings in Edinburgh and Glasgow are used from time to time.

  Generally events such as these do not incur cost to the Scottish Executive beyond normal running costs and no central record is kept of them.

Scottish Local Government (Elections) Bill

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have indicated a wish to participate in the proposed electoral pilot schemes under the Scottish Local Government (Elections) Bill and what criteria will be used to assess these schemes.

Peter Peacock: No local authority has yet formally indicated that it wishes to take part in the proposed electoral pilot schemes. Guidance to councils about how to participate in the schemes will be issued early in the New Year. A number of councils have indicated informally their desire to use this provision.

Tourism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been any drop in tourist income and, if so, what the drop was, expressed as a figure and as a percentage, in (a) Scotland and (b) each tourist board area between (i) 1999-2000 and 2000-01 and (ii) the equivalent period in 2000-01 and 2001-02 to date.

Mike Watson: The information requested in respect of Scotland will be available shortly. The information requested with regard to Area Tourist Board areas is not held centrally.

Tourism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding was made available for tourism promotion (a) in Scotland and (b) to each area tourist board in (i)1999-2000 (ii) 2000-01 and (iii) 2001-02 to date.

Mike Watson: VisitScotland is the national organisation with the remit to promote Scotland as a tourist destination. Its marketing budget for the last three years is as follows:

  


1999-2000 
  

£8 million 
  



2000-01 
  

£9.5 million 
  



2001-02 
  

£18 million 
  



  Information on Area Tourist Boards marketing budgets is not held centrally.

Water Industry

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any decision has been made about future appointments to the Board of Scottish Water.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has conducted a recruitment process for appointments of non-executive members to the Board of Scottish Water, subject to the Parliament’s approval of the Water Industry (Scotland) Bill. This process was conducted according to the guidelines set out by the UK Commissioner for Public Appointments. Ministers intend to appoint the following as non-executive members, if and when the Bill is enacted:

  Bill Cameron, ex-Chief Executive of Mayflower Bus and Coach.

  Graeme Crombie, non-executive Director of Clydeport plc

  David Gray, Executive Chairman of DTZ Pieda Consulting & Board member, West of Scotland Water

  Paul Jowitt, Director of the Scottish Institute of Sustainable Technology; Professor of Civil Engineering Systems at Heriot Watt University; Board member, East of Scotland Water

  Ian McMillan, ex-executive board member, Scottish and Southern Energy

  Rita Theil, Director of the Utility Sector Team, Schroder Salomon Smith Barney.

  The prospective Chair and Chief Executive of Scottish Water have also conducted an open recruitment process for prospective Executive members of the boards, and have recommended that ministers appoint the following:

  Asset Management Director: Geoff Aitkenhead, East of Scotland Water

  Commercial Director: Christopher Banks, Enstone plc

  Customer Service Director: Cheryl Black, NTL

  Finance Director: Douglas Millican, East of Scotland Water

  The prospective Chair and Chief Executive have also recommended that ministers approve the following prospective appointments by Scottish Water, as Directors not serving on the board:

  Business Services Director: Mark Adderley, Royal Bank of Scotland Group

  Human Resources Director: Paul Pagliari, Scottish Power

  Ministers accept these recommendations and the appointments will take place, if and when the Bill is enacted.